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Thursday, May 23, 2013

50 State Challenge - CONNECTICUT

I bet everyone thought I was going to write about Foxwoods Casino or Mohegan Sun Casino or maybe even Mystic. If ya thought I was going to write about those things than you are new to this blog. Todays post is going to be about a little lesser known gem called Gillette Castle State Park.

Gillette Castle State park is situated between the towns of East Haddam and Lyme, CT and it sits above the Connecticut River. Gillette Castle got its name because it was owned and designed by Actor William Gillette who was most famous for playing Sherlock Holmes. Gillette built the castle in 1914 on over 180 acres of land on a chain of hills called the Seven Sisters. When Gillette died in 1937, he was not married and did not have any children so Connecticut's government took over the property in 1943. They renamed Gillette's home as Gillette's Castle and named the estate Gillette Castle State Park.

An interior shot of Gillette's Castle

The park consists of the castle and it's grounds that now includes a museum, and several hiking trails. he grounds are breath taking and there are amazing views of the river. The Castle is the main attraction though, and it is easy to see why. It is strikingly beautiful on the outside and in the inside it is even more spectacular. There are a number of oddities inside the castle designed personally by Gillette. Some of the oddities are unusual doorknobs (no 2 doors look a like), weird locks, a system of hidden mirrors used for surveillance and a lock protected bar.

Gillette Castle State Park is open from 8 a.m. until sunset year round. While admission to tour the grounds is free, there is a charge of $6 for those over the age of 13 and $2 for children under 13. Gillette Castle is located at 67 River Road in East Haddam, CT.